Background Information

Runaway Swimmer was conceptualized by the author in 1996.   The novel is based on a family legend concerning George Washington Skipper.   He was a half-white/half-Indian boy of three years old when he disappeared.   His family thought that he may have been taken by a local Cherokee tribe that had recently vacated the area surrounding their homestead at the outset of the Trail of Tears.   He was never seen or heard from again, and as far as his family knew, he was dead.

The novel is built around this story and a great deal of historical research.   The facts of the novel revolve primarily around the names of the characters and some of the events in which they were involved.   The American Civil War and the Trail of Tears are two major backdrops for the story, and provide the impetus for several of the life changes the characters experience.   However, the actions the characters take and the discoveries they make about themselves are the true vehicles that shape the story.

One of the major locations mentioned in the story is the Foundation Stone. The Foundation Stone is known to our family as the Indian Rock. It stands only a few miles from where my family has lived for over seven generations. The following picture shows the Frog Stone. It is a smaller rock that resembles a frog.

The next picture is of the Eagle Stone. Again, aptly named.

The final photograph is of the Indian Rock (Foundation Stone). This rock resembles a large face with an eye and gaping mouth, similar to a large panther.